Most eccentric antiquing in the counties
Squashapenny Junction
10570 Doswell Road, Doswell, VA.
To start, you have to pay a $10 fee and book a weekend appointment time to shop at this unique antique store sitting near the train tracks in Doswell.
“It got to the point where it was physically and mentally too difficult for me to have a store full of people,” says owner Suzanne Fleet, 67, who bought an old abandoned general store in the late ‘90s and turned it into a veritable folk museum of singularly curated artifacts culled from long-gone hardware stores, gas stations, drugstores, carnivals and God knows where. “With the $10, the customers have the store to themselves for an hour. If they spend $20 or more, they get it back.”
If you crave the unusual, you’ll make the investment. Are you shopping for, say, an old-style rotary phone, a vintage hotel desk bell, a (baby blue) ‘50s-era Pepsi machine, a set of knock-down carnival bottles or a still-revolving barber’s pole? This is your joint.
“I’m interested in the unusual,” she says. “Something made of 2,000 matchsticks or hobo art or naive paintings, bottlecap baskets, something that has a kind of raw honesty to it. It has to have some kind of eccentric, soulful artistic appeal… You look at it and say, ‘I never saw one of those before.’”
The back-in-time feel of Squashapenny reflects the aesthetic of its owner and sole employee, a former art teacher who operates without a computer or cell phone. The Junction has no web site. “I’m a cave girl and only have a landline. And I ask that customers put their devices away when in the store,” she says. “People end up appreciating it. It’s like we’re in a bubble here, shutting the modern world out.”
The two-day-a-week schedule allows her time to scour the area for more unique stuff.
“What’s the weirdest thing I’ve found?” Fleet laughs. “Half of what I have is the weirdest thing I’ve ever found.”—D.H.
Best hidden gem of a gift shop
The ICA Shop and Café
601 W. Broad St.
The ICA Café is something of a hidden gem in Richmond, offering a local-sourced menu with knockouts like the curry egg salad toast and the ZZQ smoked chicken salad sandwich. The ICA Shop is even less known.
Tucked away in the back of the café is a small but mighty selection of wares curated by Mai Warshafsky, the ICA’s head of café and retail operations. The shop’s offerings aim to embrace sustainable practices: Cyrc 3D vases made from recycled plastic; ecofriendly Solar Eclipse Hair Clips; Poppy & Pout lip balm that comes in cardboard tubing, instead of plastic. The shop also offers ceramics made at Brookland Park Boulevard’s Hand/Thrown Studio.
For fans of the café, Warshafsky has an exciting development in the works: a guest chef series this fall that aims to celebrate contemporary food culture. Santana Hem, of the Supper Club Hem and Her, will present a special series of Khmer-inspired brunches highlighting traditional Cambodian flavors, reimagined. Warshafsky says the café is toying with the idea of piloting a brunch or two in the meantime. If you want a taste of Hem’s handiwork, the ICA has started selling his popular brown butter black sesame brittle chocolate chip cookies.—R.G.
Best out-of-the-way record store
Records & Relics
2704 E. Marshall St.
Greg Wells owes the improbable success of Records & Relics, the record shop he runs in Church Hill, to a series of risks that have paid off. One of them was thinking that he could start a successful used-only vinyl outlet in the first place. “I didn’t know if I could make it work,” he says. “My dad thought I was crazy.”
Wells, a longtime record collector, moved to Richmond from Louisville, Kentucky in 1996.
“I came here because of the leftist political counterculture and the punk rock alternative music world, two things that I was into in my ‘20s,” he says.
Inspired by a friend who made a living selling vintage vinyl (“he planted a seed”) Wells, 50, started hawking discs at record shows and flea markets, and renting space in antique co-ops like Mixies in Mechanicsville, now named Mechanicsville Antiques and Collectibles. “I did very well there, making $2,000 a month selling out of a 10 ft. x 10 ft. booth. That told me that I was onto something.”
Another risk he took, in 2018, was to open his niche business in this sleepy Church Hill neighborhood, not exactly a retail mecca. “I specifically chose Church Hill to get away from everybody else,” he says. “I wanted to establish a record store in a new part of town that was completely underserved.”
Records & Relics is small, cramped, and filled with vinyl both pricey and cheap (before he opens each weekend, Wells posts his latest finds on the shop’s Facebook and Instagram pages). Wells is only open weekends—he spends weekdays hunting far and wide for more records—but R&R has become a thriving hotspot for both serious jazz collectors, and casual rock and soul fans looking for more common discs.
“I’ve been supported here from day one,” he says.—D.H.
Best place to go crafting on date night
Quarry RVA
2707 W. Cary St.
A topic often kicked around among friends is always: Where should I go on a date?
While VMFA is a mainstay, another artsy option exists that you might find more engaging. Located on West Cary Street downtown, Quarry RVA is a community craft space where you might make anything from disco balls to cat toys and birdhouses in a cozy, safe and inclusive place. Folks from around town sign up as guides and lead classes, and the non-hierarchical structure opens the door to explore and create, making new connections likely with a shared laugh or two.
“We prefer enthusiasm and sharing over some kind of power dynamic system,” says founder Bird Cox, also an integral player at Richmond Young Writers. “Our intention is to be with people and perhaps look in their eyes and to check in about their day. Then make something.”
It all started on Christmas day 2022, when Cox came up with a simple concept: “Create joyful community in small groups,” they recall. “Maybe make a little thing.”
The risk of the venture was mitigated by the fact that Cox already had the building. “So far it just continues to grow and is a very happy little place.”—H.L.
Best place to save your memories
The Memory Lab
The Richmond Public Library Main Branch
101 E. Franklin St.
Those crumbling old super 8 films and hi-8 video tapes that are gathering dust right now in your attic—what can you do with them? The Memory Lab, housed in the special collections room at the Richmond Public Library’s Main Branch, is the place to digitize. For free.
Funded by a $900,000 Public Knowledge grant from the Mellon Foundation, the Memory Lab enables visitors to capture and save images and sounds contained on old, antiquated media. “It’s the perfect place for people to come in and do personal history or personal digitization projects,” says Ben Himmelfarb, the branch’s community services manager.
The lab can work with, among other things, beta tape, slides, 8mm film, reel-to-reel tape, microcassettes and various video formats. Potential users just have to register and book an appointment in advance and be prepared to save their transferred media to a USB drive or an online dropbox. The library also has personal archiving kits available for check out, including cameras, tripods, audio recorders and scanners.
“We see all sorts of people,” says Marvin Hicks, the library’s Community Memory Fellow. “From young people who find something in their grandparent’s basement or uncover a tape in a thrift store and are curious about what’s on it, to older people who are scanning all of their family’s memories.”—D.H.
Best toy collector’s paradise
Toy Lair
4005 W. Broad St.
With a life-size dragon outside to greet customers, Toy Lair offers 6,000 square feet of new and used toys, collectibles, and everything you need to get that nostalgic toy fix. The walls are lined with modern and classic toys featuring everything from action figures of Marvel superheroes, Power Rangers, and Star Wars to LEGO sets to exclusive Japanese imports.
Expect to find stuff that you can’t find at other retailers.
“There’s something everyone here—for collectors and for the casual person,” Toy Lair’s Cody Jones says. “We’re a collector-oriented shop, but we see people of all ages in here and they get stuff that they think is just cute or interesting.”
After three years operating in Carytown, Toy Lair moved to a larger location in October 2024 and has used the extra space to its advantage, showcasing more of the shop’s dynamic and ever-changing collection. The space also allows the shop to regularly host events like tabletop and card gaming meetups, and the space is branching out into other art events like puppet shows and vendor markets, which they have planned throughout the summer.
Customers can also sell their old toys to the shop, so go find those boxes packed away.—A.C.
Best community response to a water crisis
Circle Thrift, Gallery5, Gilpin Community Garden, MAD RVA (Mutual Aid Distribution Richmond), Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton, Richmond Food Not Bombs, Richmond Workers Assembly, RVA Community Fridges, Studio Two Three …
When government agencies fall short, or are dismantled, it’s up to community-based efforts to pick up the slack and assure all of our neighbors’ needs are met. If you live in or around Richmond, you probably remember one such occasion, last January, when the city and surrounding localities lost water service for the better part of a week. This dry run tested locals’ ability to address a seismic structural breakdown and civic emergency, even if national news outlets paid little attention.
In a true team effort, community organizations and local businesses sprang into action to raise over $10,000 and distribute more than 2,500 cases of water throughout the city on their own shared accord. This kind of coordination between so many distinct groups embodied the spirit of community and demonstrated the ongoing need for collective activism, especially when it means fulfilling our most basic needs, like access to palatable water.
If you’re looking for a shortlist of capable and deserving area-nonprofits to contribute your energy and or resources to, have your pick from the aforementioned ones in this category.—T.A.
Best facilitator of community gardens
Verdant Richmond
Lawrence Miller’s call to action came in the form of an old set of Church Hill stairs between Franklin and 24th streets.
“It had a really pretty view of the city, but it was completely overgrown,” says Miller of a walkway once covered with poison ivy, honeysuckle and tree of heaven. “I wanted to rehab that space.”
But Miller’s determination ran into municipal red tape; to get the city’s permission to work on the site and collect donations, Miller founded Verdant Richmond, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing and supporting the city’s parks and public spaces.
Since its establishment in 2017, Verdant Richmond has partnered with corporate volunteers and neighborhood groups on planting and landscaping initiatives at Reedy Creek Nature Center, Byrd Park’s Dell Meadow, Church Hill’s Patrick Henry Park, Oregon Hill’s Pleasant’s Park and Union Hill’s Triangle Park. It also established Six Points Community Garden in Highland Park and Van Lew Community Garden in Church Hill.
When EnRichmond Foundation, the nonprofit entity that served as the financial steward of 86 small community groups, abruptly collapsed in 2022, Verdant Richmond stepped up to serve as the fiscal agent for some of the city’s community gardens. This extends nonprofit status to the gardens, allowing them to collect donations and apply for grants. Verdant Richmond also purchased the insurance policy that covers those gardens.
Upcoming efforts include replacing current plants around the boat ramp and parking lot at Huguenot Flatwater, planting trees at Alice Fitz Park in Manchester, and creating a more attractive space for residents and pollinators at North Central Park in Northside.
Miller, Verdant Richmond’s executive director, says he’s always looking for volunteers: “We welcome anybody from the community who wants to participate.”—R.G.
Veterinarian
1st
Fan Veterinary Clinic
307 N Robinson St.
2nd
Betty Baugh’s Animal Clinic
5322 Patterson Ave.
3rd
River City Veterinary Hospital
5220 W Broad St.
4th
Scott’s Addition Animal Hospital
3201 W Broad St
Vintage Clothing
1st
Bygones Vintage Clothing
916 W Cary St,
2nd
Dead People’s Stuff Vintage Market
@deadpeoplesstuffva
3rd
Halcyon Vintage Clothing
17 N Robinson St.
Tattoo Shop
1st
Black Rabbit Tattoo
(multiple locations)
2nd
Loose Screw Tattoo
3313A W Cary St.
3rd
Heroes & Ghosts Tattoo
3035 W Cary St.
Thrift Store
1st
Diversity Thrift
1407 Sherwood Ave.
2nd
Furbish Thrift
2833 Hathaway Rd.
3rd
ASHBY
3010 W Cary St.
Salon
1st
circle square salon
305 N Robinson St.
2nd
Melt Parlor
2513 W Cary St.
3rd
Tigers Eye Hair Studio
316 N 2nd St.
Record Store
1st
Plan 9 Music
3017 W Cary St.
2nd
Deep Groove Records
317 N Robinson St.
3rd
Vinyl Conflict Record Store
300 E Grace St.
Plumber
1st
Woodfin
1823 N Hamilton St.
2nd
Serenity Plumbing
250 N Otterdale Rd., Midlothian
Pet Store
1st
Pawfect Sweets
9221 Fisk Rd., Henrico
2nd
Fin & Feather Pet Center, Inc.
5208 Lakeside Ave.
3rd
Lora Robins Gift Shop at the Richmond SPCA
2519 Hermitage Rd.
Music Store
1st
Plan 9 Music
3017 W Cary St.
2nd
Deep Groove Records
317 N Robinson St.
3rd
Fan Guitar and Ukulele
1215 W Main St.
Landscaping
1st
Cross Creek Nursery & Landscaping
501 Courthouse Rd.
2nd
Cartwright Landscaping
4 Gaymont Rd., Unit 4
Jewelry Store
1st
Cowardin’s Jewelers
4909 W Broad St.
2nd
Carreras Jewelers
121 Libbie Ave.
3rd
Lustre by Adolf
1539 N Parham Rd.
Gym
1st
Moore Than Fitness
3003 Dill Ave.
2nd
Jazzercise Richmond Fitness Center
7115-A Staples Mill Rd.
3rd
Tequila & Deadlifts
2614 W Cary St.
Grocery Store
1st
Libbie Market
400 Libbie Ave.
2nd
Ellwood Thompson’s
4 N Thompson St.
3rd
Tom Leonard’s Farmer’s Market
4150 Tom Leonard Dr., Glen Allen
Gift Shop
1st
Mongrel
2924 W Cary St.
2nd
Shop Siesta Boutique & Gift Shop
13205 Rivers Bend Blvd., Chester
3rd
The Lioness
4009 MacArthur Ave.
Garden Center
1st
Sneed’s Nursery
8756 W Huguenot Rd.
2nd
Strange’s Florist & Garden Center
(multiple locations)
3rd
Cross Creek Nursery & Landscaping
501 Courthouse Rd.
Best Hotel
1st
The Jefferson
101 W Franklin St.
2nd
Quirk Hotel
201 W Broad St.
3rd
Linden Row Inn
100 E Franklin St.
Furniture Store
1st
Virginia Wayside Furniture
10500 Patterson Ave.
2nd
Class and Trash At Scott’s Addition
1720 Altamont Ave.
3rd
LaDIFF
1011 Commerce Rd.
Florist
1st
Strawberry Fields Flowers and Finds
423 Strawberry St.
2nd
Vogue Flowers
(multiple locations)
3rd
The Freckled Flower Farm
18065 Mountain Rd, Montpelier
4th
Coleman Brothers Flowers Inc.
2104 Dumbarton Rd.
Flooring
1st
Costen Floors
9840 Mayland Dr., Innsbrook
2nd
The Floor Store
8711 W Broad St.
3rd
Better Floors, Inc.
2601 Buford Rd., North Chesterfield
Farmers Market
1st
RVA Big Market
facebook.com/RVABIGMKT
2nd
RVA Black Farmers Market
@rvablackfarmersmarket
3rd
South of the James Market
4021 Forest Hill Ave.
4th
Birdhouse Farmers Market
1507 Grayland Ave
Electrician
1st
Kelleher HVAC
1301 School St.
2nd
Woodfin
1823 N Hamilton St.
3rd
Atkins Electric
21427 Hull Street Rd. , Moseley
Car Repair
1st
Wallace Automotive
7427 W Broad St. A
2nd
Ironwood Automotive
2104 N Hamilton St.
3rd
Certified Auto Repair
8401 Oakview Ave., Henrico
Bookstore
1st
Fountain Bookstore
1312 E Cary St.
2nd
Shelf Life Books
2913 W Cary St.
3rd
bbgb books
3003 W Cary St.
Bike Shop
1st
Agee’s Bicycles
3116 W. Cary St.
2nd
Outpost Richmond
4813 Forest Hill Ave.
3rd
Wheel Simple Bicycle Repair
2225 E Clay St, Richmond, VA 23223
Barbershop
1st
High Point Barbershop & Shave Parlor
(multiple locations)
2nd
Cutz for Guys
11530 W Broad St.
3rd
Main Street Barber
2215 W Main St.
4th
Brovado Barbershop
13985 Raised Antler Cir., Midlothian
Art Supply Store
1st
SCRAP RVA
322 W Brookland Park Blvd.
2nd
Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing
927 W Grace St.
3rd
SUPPLY
320 W Broad St.
Antique Store
1st
West End Antiques Mall
2004 Staples Mill Rd.
2nd
Class and Trash at Scott’s Addition
1720 Altamont Ave.
3rd
RVA Antiques
16102 Lakeside Ave., Henrico
View the winners in each of the following categories:
